Suppose you have a block of text or code which appears identically in multiple passages. It can be a pain to have to keep track of each instance in which it was used, especially when fixing spelling or link names. <​display>>​ provides you with an elegant means of reusing this text: simply place it in another passage, and then use <<​display>>​ in each of the places it is used.

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Suppose you have a block of text or code which appears identically in multiple passages. It can be a pain to have to keep track of each instance in which it was used, especially when fixing spelling or link names. ​<<​display>>​ provides you with an elegant means of reusing this text: simply place it in another passage, and then use <<​display>>​ in each of the places it is used.

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Consider this source code, which paraphrases one of the first scenes of //The Hitchhiker'​s Guide to the Galaxy://

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Consider this example:

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<​code>​

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{{ :display2.png |}}

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:: The world is ending

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The world is about to end -- something about construction of a bypass? -- and

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you only have time to buy one thing at the pub.

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* [[Buy another beer]]

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* [[Buy a sandwich]]

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:: Buy another beer

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Ford had said something about muscle relaxant.

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You decide to take him at his word.

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<<​display '​Vogons begin'>>​

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:: Buy a sandwich

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For some odd reason you've been craving a cheese sandwich all day, and it looks

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like you won't have a chance to have one anytime soon.

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<<​display '​Vogons begin'>>​

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:: Vogons begin

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You hear a great rumbling from outside, and rush outside to see what's going on...

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<<set $vogons to true>>​

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</​code>​

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In both of those passages, the entire text of the passage "Vogons begin" will be displayed after the text. Since its text contains ​the macro <<set $vogons ​to true>>,​ then it will indeed be set in both of those passages.

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In all 3 of the above passages, the entire text of the passage "window" will be displayed after the text, thus saving ​the need to reproduce ​it exactly ​in each passage.

====A note about tags====

====A note about tags====

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What the <<​display>>​ macro actually does is copy the text from the given passage into the current passage. It doesn'​t actually display the passage in its own right. What this means is that, if a passage has CSS styling specific to it, then that styling will not be applied to the current passage!

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What the <<​display>>​ macro actually does is copy the text from the given passage into the current passage. It doesn'​t actually display the passage in its own right. What this means is that, if a passage has [[tag]]-based ​CSS styling specific to it, then that styling will not be applied to the current passage!

====Using a variable to display a passage====

====Using a variable to display a passage====

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====Shorthand form====

====Shorthand form====

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The <<​display>>​ macro is special among Twine macros because it has a shorthand form. Instead of writing <<​display "​passage">>,​ you can simply write <<​passage>>,​ as if it was another macro. ​(**Note:** this only works when the passage name is a constant value that does //not// contain spaces!) This allows you to write Twine stories in a "​template"​ style:

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The <<​display>>​ macro is special among Twine macros because it has a shorthand form. Instead of writing <<​display "​passage">>,​ you can simply write <<​passage>>,​ as if it was another macro.

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<​code>​

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However, to avoid conflicts with other aspects of Twine syntax, you can only use the shorthand to display passages whose names adhere to these rules:

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:: Battle start

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* The passage name must not contain spaces.

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With a resounding cry of "<<​battlecry>>​", your <<​minions>>​ rush into battle!

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* The passage name must not conflict with the name of an actual macro (so, you can't display a passage titled ​"print").

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:: battlecry [nobr]

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This shorthand form allows you to write Twine stories in a "​template"​ style:

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<<if $morale > 2>>

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Victory is ours!

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<<​else>>​

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Help us!

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<<​endif>>​

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:: minions [nobr]

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{{ :display.png |}}

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<<if $species is "​globbo">>​

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globlings

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<<​else if $species is "​varavar">>​

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vara-thralls

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<<​endif>>​

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</​code>​

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As you can see, the "​battlecry"​ and "​minions"​ passages can be displayed in place of those <<​[[if]]>>​ statements throughout the story, with little hindrance to the readability of the passage text.

As you can see, the "​battlecry"​ and "​minions"​ passages can be displayed in place of those <<​[[if]]>>​ statements throughout the story, with little hindrance to the readability of the passage text.

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(The two passages use the [[tag|nobr tag]] to eliminate line-breaks.)

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====Passing data to displayed passages====

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See the documentation for the [[function#​parameter_number|parameter()]] function.

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====Displaying a script passage====

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If you attempt to <<​display>>​ a passage containing a Javascript [[script]], something special will happen: the script code will not be displayed, but will instead be re-executed.

====Avoid the <<​display>>​ loop====

====Avoid the <<​display>>​ loop====

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When displayed, the passage will keep attempting to display itself over and over until the reader force quits his Web browser. This doesn'​t do permanent damage, but it will not endear yourself to your reader.

When displayed, the passage will keep attempting to display itself over and over until the reader force quits his Web browser. This doesn'​t do permanent damage, but it will not endear yourself to your reader.